Shikigami-chou

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Shikigami-chou (aka "Guardian Deity Town") is a location in the Kishin Douji Zenki series.

In the English anime subs and dubs, it is also known by the name of "Guardian Village".

Shikigami-chou is a ficitonal place located in the Kyoto region in Japan and the hometown of Zenki and his friends.

The majority of the series events happens in this village. The area around Shikigami-chou consists of a large forest with a mountain range in the background. The town is very lively and most of its inhabitants are humans.

The Enno Shrine is located in the north of Shikigami-chou. A long stairway through the forest leads up to it.

In the intro of Kishin Douji Zenki - Battle Raiden it is actually stated that the huge mountain seen in the background is the famous Mount Fuji.

Shikigami-chou and its origins


While in original, Japanese version of the series, the location is mainly known as Shikigami-chou, which can both be transliterated as Shikigami Town or fully translated as Guardian Deity Town, it's original meaning has been lost in the anime's dubs and subs, where it simply became "Guardian Village".

In the original series, the name Shikigami-chou is meant to honor Ozunu Enno's five Guardian Warriors. They are five demon gods, known by the names of Zenki, Goki, Vasara, Furisu and Hidoku.

After its founding, the town kept the traditions of Ozunu Enno alive via the Enno family's bloodline, its shrine and the writings of Ozunu-sama himself, as well as by honoring the tombs of the demon gods, where available.

Zenki was worshipped in the Enno Shrine itself, being sealed in his sepulcher (or the aptly named "Zenki rock" in Tenchi Meidou) for a thousand years, until being unsealed by young Chiaki Enno, Ozunu-sama's 55th generation descendant.

Goki died as a mortal man after giving his five cosmic elements to his children and chose to leave this world shortly after his beloved, human wife's last breath. The azure demon god was buried in his tomb on Mount Oomine, where the Shugenja kept his legend and the aesthetics of Ozunu-sama alive.

Vasara was sealed away, after he became a threat to humanity. When he saw the humans as the root of all evils, he tried to eradicate their race from earth's face. This was obviously not in favor of his master, so Ozunu-sama took care of the appropriate measures to stop Vasara from doing any harm.

While Furisu and Hidoku fought alongside Zenki, Goki and Ozunu when Vasara went on his rampage, little is known about the two of them and about what happened to them afterwards. Their faces and appearances are roughly known, yet their names are covered in heavily speculation.

While named in honor to the five demon gods, Shikigami-chou wasn't and still isn't solely inhabited by the guardian warriors. It also did and still does also house humans, animals and other lifeforms.

The guardian warriors are the town's and humanity's chosen protectors, which continue to watch over them to protect them from harm.

Ozunu's protective barriers


Shikigami-chou and the Enno Shrine are protected by strong barriers. These were errected by Ozunu Enno prevent the people from getting harmed by malicious forces.

Anime and Ingame
In the anime and the SNES game Kishin Douji Zenki - Den Ei Rai Bu the barriers are represented by a pentagram that goes all over the city in the anime, while in the game it is only shown to be present on top of the highest local mountain. In the anime Karuma attemps to destroy the five places which hold up the seal a few times before she is defeated by Zenki (utilizing the Diamond Axe) and Chiaki. Karuma tried to break the seal as it was sealing her true powers and her tree form away.

Manga
In the manga, the Ozunu's barriers consist of traps instead of the pentagram. Amon easily breaks the barriers by summoning monsters he refers to as his "puppets".

If the pentagram also appears in the manga is still unclear and needs more research.

Locations connecting to Shikigami-chou
There is also a road that leads out of Shikigami-chou, eventually leading to the following locations:

Anime only Locations:
 * Gotou Mansion
 * Professor Kuwaori's research lab

While Professor Kuwaori's research lab's purpose is pretty obvious, Gotou Mansion is the place where Akira Gotou and his father lived before Akira's father was killed by some Hyouijuu. After that incident the house is in a very bad state and never visited again in the entire anime series.

Both Gotou Mansion and Professor Kuwaori's research lab are located in a town that is larger than Shikigami-chou but the town's name is never mentioned. It is very likely that the unnamed town is based on a busy real life destrict of the Nara Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan.

Manga only Locations:

Even farther away, the road leads into a forest on Mount Oomine, where the Shugenja practice their Shugendou religion. There also is a village called the Village of the five Demons. In the manga, Akira lives in a little house in this village instead of the unnamed town.

The larger town from the anime also exists in the manga, but most of the time when Zenki and his friends visit it, they fight some kind of Hyouijuu or other villain in that location.

More content will be added soon.

Manga

 * In the original, Japanese manga the place is known by the Furigana and Kanji writings of しきがみちょう and 式神町. These are both transliterated as "Shikigami-chou", which translates as "Guardian Deity Town". Alternatively one can also call it the "Shikigami Town".
 * While the initial transliteration results in "Shikigami-chō", it becomes "Shikigami-chou", as the "ō" is made up by the Furigana for "o" and "u" being joined.
 * The name of the location is pronounced as "Shikigami cho" with a drawn out "o".
 * In the Chinese manga, Shikigami-chou becomes "Guishen zhen". This is due to the Kanji writing in the Chinese manga being 鬼神鎮 (Guǐshén zhèn), which translates as "Demon God Town". Alternatively one can also call it the "Kishin Town".
 * It is unknown, why the town's name changed from "Shikigami Town" to "Kishin Town" in-between versions.

Anime
In the English anime dubs and subs, Shikigami-chou becomes "Guardian Village", which simply omits the "Deity"-part. As with other entries in the series, this change is likely rooted in the nineties issue with religious themes in various media.

Various
While Shikigami-chou itself is never mentioned in the games, its vague location and places surrounding it are, which are, for example, Mount Fuji in Kishin Douji Zenki - Battle Raiden, the Kyoto region in Kishin Douji Zenki 2 - Den Ei Rai Bu and Mount Oomine in Kishin Douji Zenki 3 - Tenchi Meidou and Kishin Douji Zenki (Game Gear).

Vajura Fight
Kishin Douji Zenki FX - Vajura Fight does feature Shikigami-chou, but never mentiones it by its name. This is especially notable in the intro cutscene, when a girl is attacked by a Hyouijuu and calls Chiaki via phone in a similar manner to what is seen in Episode 6 of the anime.

Chibi Zenki and Chiaki are also seen in the Enno Shrine, with Chibi Zenki eating bananas and Chiaki being interrupted by the phone call, when she tries to berate him on plundering the fridge once again.


 * -|Gallery (Shikigami-chou)=

Ingame (Den Ei Rai Bu/Karuma Ark)
More images will be added soon.


 * -|Gallery (Shikigami-chou's forest and mountains)=

Ingame (Battle Raiden/Jushi Ark)
More images will be added soon.